Your November OBX Park News: Ocracoke to Reopen, Meet a Pony Family and more

We're Thankful for - YOU!

Today and every day since we launched Outer Banks Forever this past April I have been thankful for - you!

Whether you volunteered, donated, or just visited your OBX national parks this year you are reading this email because you raised your hand and said "I love my OBX national parks!" That is all we could ask for in our very first year.

I'm also thankful for our amazing Board of Directors. Last week we toured the newly renovated Visitor Center at Wright Brothers National Memorial (pictured here with Superintendent Dave Hallac). We also looked back at what you've helped us accomplish so far during our first year helping your parks, and looked ahead at the projects your partnership will make possible in 2020.

There is still time left in 2019 though, and December is bringing two exciting opportunities to our community. First, I'm happy to report that Ocracoke Island will reopen to visitors on December 2nd ! The island is still cleaning up from Hurricane Dorian, but the businesses who are open look forward to welcoming us all back.

Second, Giving Tuesday is coming up on December 3rd. Not familiar with Giving Tuesday? Think of it as the "do good" cousin to your favorite shopping days - Black Friday and Cyber Monday ;) Giving Tuesday is an online day of giving celebrated around the world - learn more here where we also answer your question, "how does my gift help my parks?"

Thank you and see you in your parks,

Jessica Green

Director, Outer Banks Forever

All in the family: Meet your Ocracoke ponies!

Legend has it the Ocracoke ponies arrived on our island with shipwrecked explorers in the 16th and 17th centuries. Their lives look a little different today under the care of loving volunteers and your parks' staff, but they continue to be some of the most beloved residents on the island.

This month we want to introduce you to one of the families in our herd - Meet Sacajawea (top) and her daughters, Hazelnut (left) and Winnie (right)!

These ladies want to tell you about their lives over on our blog. Click here to learn more about this unique Ocracoke family and find out how you can adopt them into yours!

Holiday tip: Our Adopt A Pony photos make great gifts ;)

Learn More

New national report features your OBX national parks as

cultural landscapes that need protection

Your OBX national parks are getting national attention this week as one of ten sites featured in a new report by The Cultural Landscape Foundation, a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., that educates the public on the history and significance of beloved cultural landscapes across the nation.

Cape Hatteras National Seashore is one of four national parks, and the only national seashore, selected for Landslide 2019: Living in Nature which highlights sites currently threatened by flooding, wildfires, drought and other consequences of human-induced climate change. While Hatteras is the focus of the profile, it also notes a recent report that sea level rise will have drastic effects on Fort Raleigh National Historic Site and Wright Brothers National Memorial in the future.

Read on to learn more and see the other important sites highlighted.

Learn More

Why I Give: Mike Smith, Forever Founder

You may not recognize Mike's face, but you'd definitely recognize his voice. Better known as Moose on Beach 104's morning radio show, Moose & Jody, Mike is passionate about his OBX national parks. As a Forever Founder and founding Board member of Outer Banks Forever, here's what inspires Mike to give back to these special places:

I first visited the Outer Banks with my parents as a very young child in 1964. My favorite vacation memory, however, was in June 1999.

I had just completed private pilot training in Chesapeake, Virginia. My first flight as a private pilot was to First Flight Airport (KFFA) at Wright Brothers National Memorial and a second stop at Billy Mitchell Airport (KHSE) on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse move was about halfway done and was quite a sight from the air. It was a beautiful day, and I was not alone in the air around the lighthouse as several other aircraft were circling the area.

Now, I call the Outer Banks home. We are so fortunate to have three historic and beautiful parks on the Outer Banks! All of them are quite unique, yet there are many people who take them for granted. I know so many people who have never visited their Outer Banks national parks, or haven’t visited them for years. These three parks add to the charm that defines our community.

Our parks are steeped with history – they each have many stories to tell. They protect lands sacred not only to Americans but to all people. They protect these special places while allowing access for all to enjoy. From an economic standpoint, they are also a great source of tourism dollars for the region.

I believe our three national parks—Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Wright Brothers National Memorial and Fort Raleigh National Historic Site—are such treasures, worthy of support from all of us .

As an Outer Banks Forever founding Board member and as a Forever Founder , I hope to get people interested in visiting and supporting our three OBX national parks. They preserve the history and beauty of our special place and I hope you will choose to support them today.

Give Back to Your Parks Today

Photo Credits: National Park Service

Outer Banks Forever is an official partner of the National Park Service and the three national parks of the Outer Banks.

Learn more at www.obxforever.org